Barnes & Noble Makes Another Play
In Video Games with Funco Purchase

When it comes to growth, Barnes & Noble Inc. isn't going by the book. Instead, the nation's largest bookseller is betting on video games.

Last week, Barnes & Noble won a bidding war for Funco Inc., a video-game retailer with more than 400 stores, agreeing to pay about $160 million. The deal follows its decision last year to pay $189 million for Babbage's Etc. LLC, which has more than 500 video-game stores that sell the popular Sega Dreamcast and Sony PlayStation, as well as other game paraphernalia.